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Went out on a canyon ride today with my new Mavic R-sys SLR wheels with the standard Yksion Powerlink tires. Got two flats, one in the front and one in the back, both from punctures in the tire. Seems that the tires are pretty thin to save weight, but subsequently not very durable. I had been riding on Continental 4000S which had zero problems with punctures.

Two questions...1. Is my experience with the Yksion tires a fluke? Have others experienced similar challenges with these tires? 2. Anyone know a good replacement tire that will still maintain a similar minimalist look that would match the R-sys SLR's?

Wow! You could have read my mind. I'm in a similar position with the same wheels except I haven't ridden mine yet. I ride on GP4000s all the time and find they are very well suited to roads I cycle and have been wondering if the Mavic tyres will be more puncture prone. Really interested to hear the feedback on both of your questions.

I've had exceptional luck with three different sets of the 2012 Yksion Griplink/Powerlink tires (slick version, 2013+ are "Pro" and have tread). I've had three flats in a span of 18 months, and two out of three of those flats were due to large shards of glass on urban streets.

Luck of the draw, I suppose...

Long live the horizontal top tube, standard crankset, and Italian threaded bottom bracket.

Would be interested to read something more to back that up? As I'm trying to wrap my head around something that has a more narrow (albeit slightly longer) contact patch is more likely to flat?

Otherwise, my experience on the tyres is that they are fine. Mine flatted after a big piece of glass ripped it open (low light, didn't see it and would have spelled the end of any tyres). One also slashed after I rode on roads more suited to a mtb.

I prefer Conti's, but to keep the bike looking Pro (and looking like you're running singles) you'd have to stick with the Mavic tyres. Other combos, for me, haven't succeeded in replicating the aesthetics.

I've been running a set of '13 Powerlink/Griplink pro for about 1,300km and (knock on wood) zero flats. Was pretty skeptical at first after hearing all the reviews so I thought i'll just replace it once it flats/wears out since it came with my bike. Even went off the road once to ride some country farm/gravel road a few times and they held up. Decent tires from my experience but again YMMV.

TP, I don't have data, but I think the belief is that though a narrower tire may be less likely to run over something which could cause a flat than a wider tire, a narrower tire will have greater force on the spot at which an object is run over (because the weight of the rider and bike is distributed over a smaller contact patch), thereby increasing the probability that the run over thing will penetrate the tire enough to cause a flat, and this increased probability of getting a flat given that something is run over, more than makes up for the decreased probability of running over something which could cause a flat.

Think of it as the probability of getting a flat is the probability of running over something which could cause a flat, times the probability of getting a flat given that you run over something which could cause a flat. A narrower tire decreases the first term. but increases the second term, and their product (supposedly) increases for a narrower tire.

Interesting thread, as my circa 2012 R-Sys front Ypsilon flatted its maiden and second rides out, after nearly a year on the same route on Conti 4000s's without a puncture. Each time it was smacking into the lip of a small pothole that did it. Anecdotal, might have happened on other tires, could be coincidence, etc., but who knows. I prefer the Conti's overall anyway.

Tinea Paedis, my thinking is not backed up by anything but the belief that the reduced area of contact results in a more powerful impact with sharp objects, stones, glass, rocks etc. and thus requires more resilience by the tyre material.

Don't think thorn resistant tubes would help much at all...the bulk of the protection is the tire itself, once an object goes through that, it's over. A lot of the Vittoria line have great durability and are fairly good rollers too...